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News Briefs March 3, 2014

Navy: Fighter jet in Nevada crash ‘total loss’

A fighter jet that crashed during a training exercise in western Nevada is a total loss and the pilot’s condition is unknown, a spokeswoman for the Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, said Sunday.

It took rescue crews several hours to reach the site after the 3 p.m. March 1 crash because of a snow storm and mountainous, remote terrain, Lt. Reagan Lauritzen said.

The F/A-18C, a U.S. Marine jet on loan to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, went down on a Navy range training complex about 70 miles east of Naval Air Station Fallon, she said. The Navy reported incorrectly on Saturday that the jet was one of its Hornets.
The name of the pilot will be withheld for 24 hours, she said.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.

There were no reports of any other injuries or damage as a result of the crash and the jet was not carrying any weapons or munitions on the training flight, the Navy said. AP

NATO says Russian action threatens peace in Europe

NATO’s top official says Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine is in violation of the U.N. charter and threatens peace and security in Europe.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke March 2 before going into a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s political decision-making body.

What Russia is doing now in Ukraine violates the principles of the United Nations charter. It threatens peace and security in Europe. Russia must stop its military activities and threats, he said.

The NATO secretary general said he called the meeting because of Russia’s military action in Ukraine and because of President (Vladimir) Putin’s threats against this sovereign nation.

Rasmussen said officials will discuss Russia’s activities in the Crimean Peninsula and their implications for European peace and security and for NATO’s relationship with Russia. AP

Navy finds missteps in deadly Ky. crash of Humvee

A Navy report concludes that a series of missteps led to a deadly Humvee accident last May at Kentucky’s Fort Knox.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan H. Kaloust of Massapequa, N.Y., was partially ejected and killed during the training exercise, which was conducted under blacked out conditions. That means the vehicle’s headlights were off and the sailors participating in the exercise were wearing night goggles.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that the incident prompted Naval Special Warfare Command to re-examine its safety requirements for Humvee training missions. The heavily redacted investigative report was obtained by the Norfolk newspaper through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The report obtained Feb. 28 said the accident could have been prevented. AP

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